New Delhi [India], February 5 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has hit out at the earlier Mohalla Clinic framework implemented during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital, calling it a "means of corruption" while praising the full-fledged primary healthcare centres, 'Aayushman Aarogya Mandirs'.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Delhi CM urged people to compare the facilities of 'Aarogya Mandirs' with those of Mohalla Clinics.
"Go to the Aarogya Mandir. I am fully confident that you will see the difference I'm describing in words," she said, slamming the previous AAP government's Mohalla Clinics, which were often "small cabins placed over drains with no medicines, doctors, or proper treatment. They (AAP) considered it a means of corruption."
She alleged that doctors at Mohalla Clinics were hired on a daily basis and paid per patient, undermining the very idea of structured primary healthcare.
Gupta said the healthcare infrastructure that should have functioned as Delhi's first point of care was "always held back."
She noted that the concept of Aarogya Mandirs was offered by the central government even during the previous AAP regime, but was never implemented.
"They never allowed the Ayushman Yojana, nor the Vaya Vandana Yojana, nor these Aarogya Mandirs. Aarogya Mandirs are not temples; they are places for providing healthcare," the Delhi CM said, rejecting criticism around the nomenclature and clarifying that Aarogya Mandir centres are meant purely for healthcare delivery.
Emphasising the need for robust primary care, the Delhi CM said large hospitals alone cannot meet the city's healthcare demand.
"Even if you have 40 large hospitals, they cannot cater to 100 per cent of healthcare needs," she noted.
Highlighting features of Aarogya Mandirs, she said these centres offer 100 diagnostic tests free of cost, complete vaccination services for pregnant women and newborns, and a stock of nearly 1,200 medicines.
She added that Aarogya Mandirs function as permanent structures with permanent doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff. "A full-fledged primary healthcare centre is running, and the target is to build 1,000 such centres in Delhi. This is no small matter," Gupta said.
Responding to political criticism surrounding the healthcare clinic, the Chief Minister remarked that the opposition focuses only on negativity. "They only see the bad things, they'll speak negatively, they'll criticise," she said.
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